Jalmeray

Jalmeray (pronounced JAHL-meh-ray)[1] is a large island in the Obari Ocean, off the coast of Nex. At times, it has been controlled by Nex, but for the past 2,000 years it has been ruled by nobles from Vudra, as the westernmost of that land's so-called "Impossible Kingdoms".

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In theory Jalmeray is ruled by an undisputed monarch, Kharswan, the Thakur of Jalmeray. In fact, the Thakur's power is limited. The country is actually ruled by the noble families, powerful mystics and mighty masters of the island's monasteries. These are the people who have influence over the vast body that actually oversees the day to day running of the country, the Maurya-Rahm. The Thakur tends to spend his days writing poetry, attending to his harem of wives and pitting his advisors against one another to prevent any one of them becoming too powerful.[2]

Little is known of the island that would eventually become the westernmost Kingdom of the Impossible before it was claimed by the archmageNex in 253 AR. Even after Nex's conquest there is little written of the Island except that it was a place of incredible natural beauty. Jalmeray only starts receiving any real mention after it becomes home to its most famous visitor. In 563 AR the legendary maharaja of Vudra Khiben-Sald visited the Inner Sea at the head of a fleet of one hundred and one exotic Vudran ships. Khiben-Sald's first port of call was the Nexian capital of Quantium, in short order he became a firm favourite of Nex's court, at the time no one in Avistan or Garund had ever seen a Vudrani before. Soon after his arrival the archmage Nex granted Khiben-Sald dominion over the neighbouring island of Jalmeray. For a decade Khiben-Sald and his travelling court erected temples and monument using bound genies to help in their construction. When the Vudrani left a decade later all they left behind were their incredible monuments.[3]

In 576 AR shortly after the departure of the Vudrani maharaja the archmage Nex disappeared. Nex's disappearance led to the infighting within his realm, this infighting lead to the next wave of Jalmeray's inhabitants. One of the factions that was vying for the leadership of the now rulerless nation of Nex was the Arclords, unfortunately they failed and earned exile for their effort. Many of the Arclords chose Jalmeray as their new home, settling on the beautiful island the Arclords hoped to be able to influence events in their nearby homeland. The Arclords either tried to modify the wonders left behind by Khiben-Sald or, more often than not, simply seal them up and ignore them.[3]

In 2822 AR, the Vudrani returned, their exotic ships arriving in huge numbers at the port of Niswan on Jalmeray's western coast. The Vudrani who arrived claimed to be descendants of the legendary Maharaja Khiben-Sald, despite the improbability of this (it had been over two thousand years since Khiben-Sald had visited) these usurpers produced legitimate genealogies to support their claims. Surprised at what had become of the island of Jalmeray and the strange people they had found squatting on it the Vudrani asked politely asked the Arclords to vacate the island. When the Arclords refused, the Vudrani had to resort to more dramatic methods. The Vudrani summoned up an army of marids, genies with power of the element of water, who battered the island with relentless storms that sank all but one of the Arclords boats. Thoroughly defeated the Arclords abandoned Jalmeray to the Vudrani who have held it ever since.[3]

Jalmeray is first and foremost an island nation, surrounded by the warm waters of the Obari Ocean, it has helped the island's inhabitants maintain their unique culture. The island itself was always described as a place of incredible natural beauty, this was only enhanced by the vast array of elemental creatures brought by the Vudrani to help shape the island to their needs. Now the island is renowned across all of the known world for the splendid sights that can be seen nowhere else, except perhaps in distant Vudra itself. The exact climate of the island seems to vary hugely from area to area perhaps as a consequence of the elemental creatures that reside there. Niswan is beset by cold winds and even sometimes snow[3] while a few hundred miles away the north tip of Jalmeray is covered in verdant mountainous forests.[4]

The inhabitants of Jalmeray are unique in all of the Inner Sea region as it is the only nation where Vudrani are the dominant ethnicity. Being the Inner Seas only link to the legendary Kingdoms of the Impossible gives the inhabitants of Jalmeray a unique mystique that is only further enhanced by their strange kingdom. Jalmeray is the only nation in the region where Vudrani is the dominant language. The religions that dominate Jalmeray are also unique, while Irori has many worshippers across Golarion his religion is at its strongest on the island,[3] along with the worship of the thousand other deities of Vudra.[5] The people of Jalmeray also boast an unusually high number of monks amongst their population. The prowess of their martial artists is renowned across entire continents with the so called Houses of Perfection (the Monastery of Untwisting Iron, the Monastery of Unfolding Wind and the Monastery of Unblinking Flame) the most sought-after monasteries of the Inner Sea region. To qualify for training at one of the Houses of Perfection the potential applicant must race a Djinni that is a swift as the wind, wrestle with a stony Shaitan and out wit an cunning Efreeti. The monks of these monasteries compete in one of the most gruelling challenges on Golarion, the Challenge of Sky and Heaven competing to be named Champions of Sky and Heaven.[2]